I do do my research. I do an hour of research on MSN, Seeking Alpha, and others before I buy stock, while of course looking at charts.

that's not really gonna help because nothing you find researching there gives you an idea about intrinsic value. IMO, SA & MSN news (and other financial news sources) are a result of confirmation bias. I think most of it is junk. you can get about 80% of the info you need about a stock by analyzing cash flows and balance sheet, which should take about 30 minutes. I wouldn't pay any attention to charts either. In my experience, obsessing with chart movement is worthless. of course, value is subjective (just look at analyst's estimates). Analyst's are biased towards the bullish or bearish side when it's convenient to do so. Most analysts screwed over RIM (BBRY) a half year ago, and now they praise the company. Here's the most important point about investing: Margin of Safety! The best value investors basically take the same approach when choosing price: conservative estimate * margin of safety.

Personally, I think Apple is a reasonable buy below ~$440. My growth estimates are really conservative though and my margin of safety is a bit higher because of sentiment.

The stock market is like going to Vegas. If a 5% downward move on a few thousand dollars causes you to worry, then it is not the place for you. Get into something more safe imo.

One could argue it really is not the place for any small investor. The game is rigged and the small investor really has no chance and it all comes down to timing and luck for them. You always hear how over the last x number of decades the market has outperformed other investments. While that is true, one can slice numbers anyway one wants and take a sample size favorable to one's argument pro or con. For ex, in the decade of the 2000s, the market was essentially flat...zero return. So if you started investing in the early 2000s, you essentially were outta luck and what the market did in the 90s and 80s really is irrelevant to you as it was a bad investment unless of course you tried to time it.

Therefore if you accept that it's a casino and you don't go to a casino to invest, then you cannot go to the stock market and not gamble. And if all you're doing is gambling you focus should be on the rules, the odds and money management. Then your time "researching" should be to place your bets at the price where you have the best odds of winning and least odds of losing. You know why there are no clocks in a casino, right?

Play with options. Then you will either go to zero (likely anyways) or maybe double or triple your money. It's better than stressing over the 2-3% moves...

Good idea! You can lose your whole investment at once and then you won't have to worry about those 2-3% moves anymore.

Anybody who spends time "researching" needs to realize how manipulated the market really is. Some of you from the sounds of it needs to do some research on how manipulated it really is. Furthermore, any "research" done for free on the internet is old news and worthless for use in investing.

Therefore if you accept that it's a casino and you don't go to a casino to invest, then you cannot go to the stock market and not gamble. And if all you're doing is gambling you focus should be on the rules, the odds and money management. Then your time "researching" should be to place your bets at the price where you have the best odds of winning and least odds of losing. You know why there are no clocks in a casino, right?

Yeah, it's rigged. No clocks and they change the brightness of the lights to make it feel like it's always ~2pm.

Same reason they do not lay out the floor plan in a normal grid. They want you to not pay attention to the time\not be able to easily leave. They want to make you feel like it is mid-afternoon and you really have not been gambling for many hours because the longer you play, the more the odds will be in their favor and the more they will likely make off of you.

With the advent of cell phones, the lack of clocks really does not work much anymore because even people who did not wear watches likely carry a cell phone now. The contorted maze they make of the floor layout is effective though. It is nearly impossible to get your bearings in a casino.

They want you to not pay attention to the time\not be able to easily leave. They want to make you feel like it is mid-afternoon and you really have not been gambling for many hours because the longer you play, the more the odds will be in their favor and the more they will likely make off of you.

Therefore if you accept that the market is a) rigged b) a "casino" then you have to realize that's exactly the danger of going there.

If no one showed up to trade stocks one day, the market would be closed. The casino boss knows that it's not people coming in that are winning that affects the bottom line, it's the sheer number of people gambling and a set percentage of losers that determines the odds.

Most gamblers in the stock market lose (98% according to some figures). Why? Cause they picked the wrong stock? No, they never understood the odds and just kept playing anyway. The market makers don't want you to leave, they rely on you staying (holding), selling into fear and buying into frenzy. They hate it when you cash out and go home (which is what winners do).

Therefore if you accept that the market is a) rigged b) a "casino" then you have to realize that's exactly the danger of going there.

If no one showed up to trade stocks one day, the market would be closed. The casino boss knows that it's not people coming in that are winning that affects the bottom line, it's the sheer number of people gambling and a set percentage of losers that determines the odds.

Most gamblers in the stock market lose (98% according to some figures). Why? Cause they picked the wrong stock? No, they never understood the odds and just kept playing anyway. The market makers don't want you to leave, they rely on you staying (holding), selling into fear and buying into frenzy. They hate it when you cash out and go home (which is what winners do).

Therefore if you accept that the market is a) rigged b) a "casino" then you have to realize that's exactly the danger of going there.

If no one showed up to trade stocks one day, the market would be closed. The casino boss knows that it's not people coming in that are winning that affects the bottom line, it's the sheer number of people gambling and a set percentage of losers that determines the odds.

Most gamblers in the stock market lose (98% according to some figures). Why? Cause they picked the wrong stock? No, they never understood the odds and just kept playing anyway. The market makers don't want you to leave, they rely on you staying (holding), selling into fear and buying into frenzy. They hate it when you cash out and go home (which is what winners do).

This Thread is more than 769 days old. It is very likely that it does not need any further discussion and thus bumping it serves no purpose.If you still feel it is necessary to make a new reply you may do so.
I am aware that this Thread is rather old but I still want to make a reply.

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